Please, Continue (Hamlet), written and directed by Yan Duyvendak with Roger Bernat, is framed as a homicide trial in which a Chicago cast performs in the roles of Gertrude, Ophelia, and Hamlet. The starring roles of each performance, however, are those of the court officials: roles played by actual members of the judiciary including prosecutors, trial judges, and public defenders, who endeavor in earnest to succeed in the trial and convince a jury of audience members of Hamlet’s guilt or innocence.

The trial is unscripted, and all participants have access to the same, unchanging dossier of evidence. Since the project’s inception, Please, Continue has been performed hundreds of times with wildly varying verdicts, drawing attention to the theatrical nature of justice systems and raising the specter of subjectivity in our ostensibly most objective institution.

The run time of this performance is between 3 hours and 3 hours and 45 minutes, with one 30 minute intermission.